I was 36 years old when I went to Tenerife for the first time. I’d spent three decades avoiding it, having gobbled up the stereotype that it was full of sunburnt Brits on package holidays hogging loungers. What a wally I was. It was one of the best holidays we’ve had once we’d escaped the chain hotels clogging the Costa Adeje — all big skies, rolling waves, terracotta towns and beers for less than a quid in deserted village plazas.
Clearly, I’m not alone. Tourism figures from the Canary Islands, which also include Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria and La Palma, show that 14 million visitors landed on their shores in 2023 — about seven times the number of residents. Recent data from the Advantage Travel Partnership, representing travel agents, shows that 17 per cent of all bookings by its agents over the Easter holidays were for Tenerife.
Next week residents of Tenerife and Lanzarote will stage a protest against overtourism, which has caused “widespread and growing unrest”, according to Ecologistas en Accion, the environmental group organising the demonstration. It claims that water is scarce, housing is unaffordable and the islands are overcrowded, and there have been reports of anti-tourism graffiti. “The Canary Islands have a limit,” the group says.
Ivan Cerdeña Molina, a Tenerife resident who is helping to organise the protests, told The Olive Press newspaper that those taking part had “nothing against” individuals and their ire was directed at the travel industry, which is “growing and growing and using up so many resources, and the island cannot cope”.
This epidemic of global swarming is a common problem for the most enticing travel destinations. Many, including the Canaries, reap huge financial benefits from the fire hose of visitors. Ecologistas en Accion’s report notes that about 800,000 Canarians, or 34 per cent of them, are engaged in tourism; globally tourism employs about 8 per cent of the workforce.
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“Overtourism can have a really corrosive impact on destinations, local communities and the visitor experience,” says Justin Francis, chief executive of tour operator Responsible Travel. “What can help is spreading tourism more evenly throughout the year and ensuring that it really benefits local people.” He recommends switching from a hotel to a home stay or a local-owned B&B or hotel, as well as using local restaurants and guides.
This spring Venice is trialling its €5 day-trip tax, while Amsterdam wants to bar stag groups from the city centre; Bali, meanwhile, is still groaning under the weight of Eat, Pray, Love influencers. Nominal tourism taxes have been introduced in various places across the world, but — apart from in Bhutan, which charges £80 a day — none has proved much of a deterrent.
It’s also a good opportunity to remind ourselves that other destinations are available (and not just at peak times, though I know that’s easier said than done with school-age children). The number of tourists visiting the Portuguese island of Madeira is a fraction of the figure for the Canaries, while less than a million made it to Cape Verde, off the coast of Senegal, last year. Alternatively, try mainland destinations such as the Alentejo region of Portugal, Halkidiki in Greece, or Costa de la Luz in Spain. There are some easy “dupes” too — swap Venice for Padua; Amsterdam for the Hague; Santorini for Tinos; Bali for Lombok.
Next month I’m flying to Porto Santo, near Madeira, which has prompted quizzical looks from most people I’ve told. As well as feeling smug at going somewhere that few others have been, it’s always nice to feel welcomed rather than merely tolerated.
While watching an ice-hockey match in Tampere, the fun second city of Finland, I was eyeballed by surprised locals who asked what I was doing there — as much as I enjoyed our week in Tenerife, nobody there stopped me to ask that.
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Will you continue to holiday in the Canaries? Let us know know your thoughts in the comments below
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